Posts tagged ‘the golden boy’

Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao has arrived to a hero’s welcome in Manila.

Cheers greeted him at the airport shortly after emerging from the plane which touched down around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday (Manila time).

On seeing him at the presidential lounge of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport 2, his children hugged him.

In a brief statement, the reigning WBC Lightweight Champion thanked all those who prayed for his victory against boxing superstar Oscar de la Hoya.

From the airport, Pacquiao went straight to a Makati hotel for a brief rest before going to Quiapo Churh in Manila, where a thanksgiving mass attended by his legion of fans was said.

Shortly after, Pacquiao paid a courtesy call on his avid fan, President Gloria Arroyo, in Malacanang. As in his past wins, a specially-designed cake was presented to him, this time a glove-shaped carrot cake bearing the words “World’s number one pound for pound boxer.”

“It was a mismatch the other way around,” INQUIRER.net quoted Arroyo as telling Pacquiao, referring to oddsmakers prediction the much bigger Dela Hoya would easily crush the Filipino ring idol.

“You are not an underdog,” the beaming Arroyo told Pacquiao, a four-time world champion in four different weight divisions.

De la Hoya refused to come out of his corner after he got a flurry of punches from Pacquiao during their eight-round “Dream Match” in Las Vegas, Nevada Saturday — a surrender pundits say signals the end of “The Golden Boy’s” stellar boxing career.

Shortly after they stepped out of the ring, Pacquiao told De la Hoya: “You are still my idol.” De la Hoya replied, “No, you are now my idol.”

A big victory parade in key areas around Metro Manila is set Thursday.

xzinx: This should shut the critic up. All the negative comments, they just ate their words.

INSPIRED

cyrussar: If manny can do it, why can’t I excel in my own field?! Thanks for inspiring me Manny.

tisoy92: What a great fighter DLH is..he knows when to stop and surrender his throne to someone deserving…”my heart really wants to fight but my body wont respond..” with all due respect to both fighters…

Ogiereb123: Pacman won. Oscar lost. Respect to both warriors and champions in the ring.

SADDENED

e2me2: Manny retires the Golden Boy.

RESIGNED

mistah001: DLH is still the golden boy, he fought bravely. But Pacquiao is too much.

jRansMack: Hmm .. accept defeat dude.

PROVOCATIVE

ambitioushustler: Manny is the man, I’m black … Oscar was never that good to me, he was always over hyped…

dyubir: Who’s next? No more Mexican fighters left?

LiamLeeDavao: Please Bring Zorro. He’s the only one who can beat the PACMAN!

JOEtheHOTTIE: Pacquiao has more people to kill: (in no particular order)

1. floyd mayweather jr.

2. ricky hatton

3. miguel cotto

4. antonio margarito

5. shane mosley

ANGRY

sirbors1985 : Fuck Pacquiao! I lost my house……. dela hoya is such a loser…

pbcms13: He didn’t knock him out…he quit!

ambrosiobertodazo: Remember what Mayweather said? Pacquiao is inferior to his level. The fool is hiding from Margarito and Cotto. Now he is hiding from Pacquiao as well. Chicken Floyd should come out and prove his point. Pacquiao brings in the money. I want to see chicken Floyd get beaten up like de la Hoya.

ghostrid3: Manny still sucks, he won against a washed up average fighter.

CONCILIATORY

xanderguillard: HEY GUYS. IM A FILIPINO WHO LIVED IN MEXICO FOR THREE MONTHS. MEXICANS AND FILIPINOS ARE GREAT PEOPLE. Let’s stop this negative talk, ok? ODHL and Pacman made peace after the fight like true gentlemen. Let’s do the same please.

Following are excerpts from news sites around the world on the victory of Filipino boxing hero Manny Pacquiao over Oscar de la Hoya:

ASIAPACIFIC

INQUIRER.net (Philippines)
AGAINST ALL ODDSPacquiao TKOs De la Hoya

MANILA, Philippines — (UPDATE 4) Filipino ring hero Manny Pacquiao continued to validate his status as the world’s top pound-for-pound fighter when he defied the odds in knocking out boxing icon Oscar “Golden Boy” De La Hoya in their welterweight Dream Match at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas Saturday night (Sunday in Manila). FULL STORY

THE STRAITS TIMES (Singapore)The Pacman packs a punch

FILIPINOS are swelling with joyous pride after local boxing hero Manny Pacquiao demolished Mexican-American opponent Oscar De La Hoya in Las Vagas. It was another stunning victory for the 29-year-old Pacquiao, further cementing his reputation as the world’s best pound-for-pound boxer. FULL STORY

LAS VEGAS —Manny Pacquiao dominated his bigger and more famous opponent from the opening bell Saturday night, giving Oscar De La Hoya such a beating he declined to come out of his corner after the eighth round.FULL STORY

THE TIMES OF INDIA

Pacquiao punishes De la Hoya for technical knockout triumph

LAS VEGAS: Manny Pacquiao punished Oscar de la Hoya for eight rounds on Saturday, his technical knockout triumph over the US superstar underscoring the Filipino icon’s status as best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. FULL STORY

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (Australia)

Pacquiao finishes De La Hoya

LAS VEGAS: Manny Pacquiao punished Oscar De La Hoya for eight rounds on Saturday, his technical knockout triumph over the US superstar underscoring the Filipino’s status as best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. FULL STORY

BLOOMBERG (Australia)

Pacquiao Scores TKO Against De La Hoya in Welterweight Bout

PHILIPPINE boxer Manny Pacquiaoused his quick left jab to pummel Oscar De La Hoyathrough eight rounds and score a technical knock-out in the welterweight bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. FULL STORY

NORTH AMERICA

WASHINGTONPOST (US)

Pacquiao defeats De la Hoya with eight round TKO

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – Manny Pacquiao defeated Oscar De La Hoya in a non-title fight on Saturday with an eighth-round TKO. De La Hoya, who had been dominated by the WBC lightweight champion throughout, did not come out of his corner after the end of the eighth round and referee Tony Weeks awarded the fight to the Filipino.FULL STORY

LOS ANGELES TIMES (US)Manny Pacquiao leaves no doubt against Oscar de la Hoya

Reporting from Las Vegas — On a stunning Saturday night in Las Vegas, you could almost hear the 90 million people on those Pacific Islands thousands of miles to the West, screaming in delight. Their guy, Manny Pacquiao, the pride of the Philippines, had just beaten Oscar De La Hoya. FULL STORY

FOX SPORTS(USA)

Manny Pacquiao beats Oscar de la Hoya in brutal welterweight showdown

MANNY Pacquiao punished Oscar de la Hoya for eight rounds Saturday, his technical knockout triumph over the US superstar underscoring the Filipino icon’s status as best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. FULL STORY

MANNY Pacquiao confirmed his status as the world’s best pound-for-pound boxer last night with a stunning, lop-sided victory in Las Vegas over Oscar De La Hoya, one that – if sense prevails – will send boxing‘s “golden boy” into retirement and propel Ricky Hatton towards the most sustained and serious preparation of his career. The Manchester boxer is hoping to fight the Filipino in England next May, probably at Wembley. He had better be more than ready. FULL STORY

THE SUN (UK)

Manny can Pac a punch

FIGHTfans who believe in reincarnation will assume Henry Armstrong has returned to earth in the shape of Manny Pacquiao. FULL STORY

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AP) — Manny Pacquiao dominated his bigger and more famous opponent from the opening bell Saturday night, giving Oscar De La Hoya such a beating he declined to come out of his corner after the eighth round. The fight was so lopsided and De La Hoya looked so inept that it could spell the end for boxing’s richest and most marketable star. FULL STORY

BBC OnlinePacquiao stops ‘empty’ De la Hoya

Manny Pacquiao dominated Oscar de la Hoya from the start to win Saturday’s welterweight super-fight in Las Vegas. The Filipino gave his bigger, more famous opponent such a beating that De la Hoya declined to come out of his corner after the eighth round. FULL STORY

ESPN.ComMismatch indeed: Pacquiao dominates De La Hoya

LAS VEGAS — The legions who criticized the Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao fight as a mismatch were right. But it didn’t go the way they banked on it going. LAS VEGAS — The legions who criticized the Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao fight as a mismatch were right. But it didn’t go the way they banked on it going. FULL STORY

“I’m not shocked… it’s almost expected,” Oscar de la Hoya declared shortly after he stepped out of the ring following his crushing defeat to Filipino folk hero Manny Pacquiao Saturdayat the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“Manny Pacquiao is a great fighter,” said De la Hoya, who only for the second time in his 16-year professional boxing career was stopped in a fight. “He deserves all the accolades.”

Pacquiao, billed as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world, dominated his bigger opponent throughout the entire eight-round bout, badly beating De la Hoya that he refused to come out of his corner after the last round.

“He fights a tremendous fight,” De la Hoya told HBO Sports. “Manny Pacquiao boxed on his toes very well and he waited for me to make the mistakes.”

Some wonder if his reduced weight had something to do with the battering he got from thereigningWBCLightweight Champion.

De la Hoya had to weigh less than his normal fighting weight so he could face Pacquiao in the welterweight bout billedThe Dream Match. In his seven-year boxing career, it was the first time he fought at 147 pounds. When he stepped onto the scales before the fight began, he was unofficially weighing a pound less than Pacquiao’s 148.5.

But the 35-year-old Mexican American would not attribute his defeat to the issue of weight.

“He’s just a good fighter and I have nothing bad to say abut him,” said De la Hoya, an Olympic gold medalist and a 10-time world championin six weight classes. “Manny Pacquiao prepared for this like a true champion.”

Was De la Hoya shocked at his defeat, which pundits say could signal the end of his stellar boxing career?

“I’m not shocked. At this stage, when you face a great fighter like Manny then you know it’s almost expected,” he said.

De la Hoya still wouldn’t like to call it quits actually. “My heart still wants to fight, that’s for sure. But when your physical doesn’t respond, what can you do? So I have to be smart and make sure I think about my future.”

Would this loss send him into retirement?

“We’ll see what happens. Like I said, I love the sport. When it’s not your night and a true champion beats you, obviously there’s another day tomorrow.”

Mexican American De la Hoya, a 10-time world champion in six different weight classes, refused to come out of his corner after he got a flurry of punches from Pacquiao during the eight round — a surrender pundits say signals the end of The Golden Boy’s stellar boxing career.

Pacquiao, touted as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world, battered De la Hoya around the ring for eight rounds, leaving his left eye swollen shut and prompting his team to take him to a hospital for precautionary tests afterwards.

Philippine boxing icon Manny Pacquiao said he was focused and ready for his weekend “dream match” with American Oscar de la Hoya… “I am focused on the fight. I am ready, I am excited,” he said, adding that he was counting on his legion of fans back home to pray for him.

LAS VEGAS—With a smile on his face and a snarl in his voice, Manny Pacquiao shrugged off a weighty issue as he tries to overcome the biggest challenge in his career both for the glory of a nation and for his own share of boxing greatness.

TOMORROW, when Manny Pacquiao climbs up the ring at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas to meet with the towering boxing icon Oscar De La Hoya, what the world will see is the courage of the Filipino to pursue his dream, however dangerously.

The military will stop its offensives on Sunday to allow soldiers watch the year’s biggest boxing match between their idol Manny Pacquiao and Oscar dela Hoya, Philippine Army spokesman, Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. said Saturday.

Oscar De La Hoyahasn’t won a significant fight since knocking outFernando Vargassix years ago. At 35, he needs a spectacular performance against an undersized Manny Pacquiaoin a 147-pound fight tonight at theMGM Grandin Las Vegas if he expects to keep fighting for the huge purses he has been so accustomed to getting every time he steps into the ring.

The Philippine military expects an “absolute ceasefire” with rebel groups as police predict crime rate to drop to zero. Political bickering will come to a halt across the archipelagic Southeast Asian nation of 90 million.

Politicians in major cities across the country are scrambling to setup venues for free live viewing as pedicab, tricycle and jeepney drivers are expected — as in his past fights — to stop plying their routes to watch “The Dream Match.”

And the national headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines will open its gates to civilians as early as 9 a.m. Sunday as it airs for free the biggest fight thus far of Pacquiao, an Army reservist.

President Gloria Arroyo, an avid fan of Pacquiao, has once lauded the 29-year-old native of the southern General Santos City as “icon of the masses” who unites the country in “times of divisiveness.”

And the 29-year-old Pacquiao, touted as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world, is grateful for this.

“I feel their strength behind me,” said Pacquiao, the reigning World Boxing Council lightweight champion ahead of the smash hit battle in the world’s gambling capital of Las Vegas. “Whenever I fight, I fight for my country.”

Dubbed as the “Mexican Assassin,” Pacquiao has won four world titles. The southpaw is known for his speed and non-stop punches that could make an aging fighter look bad.

Says YouTube Review reader Mario: “I want Oscar to win… ‘Pacman’ has been a thorn for so many Mexican fighters. It’s just not funny anymore. “

But Pacquiao is determined to win the non-title match where he stands to make at least $15 million.

“It’s going to be boxing history if I win this fight,” he said. “I believe my power and my speed can beat him.”

And as Pacquiao readies for the scuffle, his mother back home is praying “doubly hard.”

“I am very nervous,” said Dionisia Pacquiao, who during his son’s previous fights stayed away from TV to say the novena.

But her son is ready for the brawl.

“I am prepared. This will be a good fight,” Pacquiao said. “I am focused on the fight. I am ready, I am excited.”